Powerful 7.2-magnitude quake rocks southern Peru

A strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Peru on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, with Peruvian authorities adding there were no dead or injured.

The quake hit at 7.02am local time (1202 GMT), at a depth of 218km (135 miles), according to the USGS.

Peru’s National Seismological Centre said the quake had a magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of 240km.

Its epicentre was 20km northeast of the town of Azangaro, close to Lake Titicaca on the border with Bolivia.

Peruvian authorities said the quake caused a shockwave felt in southwestern regions bordering Chile.

“For the moment, given the level of intensity at the surface, it should not generate any more damage than fear,” Hernando Tavera, the director of Peru’s Geophysics Institute, told RPP radio station.

“When the quake is deeper there is less shaking of the ground.”

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